With a seemingly unlimited number of violent crimes taking place everyday, it can be easy for some citizens to feel powerless to stop it.
Some often wonder, “What can one individual such as myself do to keep crime from rising in my neighborhood?”
According to police and active citizens, however, taking a few simple steps and making smart choices can go a long way in preventing you or someone you know from becoming the next victim of crime.
“One of the most important things you can do is to avoid making yourself or your family a target for criminals,” said Sgt. Paul Thompson, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Thompson noted that simple common sense measures such as keeping the doors to your car and home locked, parking your car in well lit areas and staying alert of your surroundings can all motivate criminals to pass you by.
Thompson noted that in order for a crime to occur a criminal must have ability, desire and opportunity to commit a crime. While little can be done to prevent ability and desire, plenty can be done to eliminate the opportunity.
“You don’t want, for example, to leave your $2,000 GPS device in your car on the dashboard in plain view,” Thompson said. “That gives someone an easy opportunity to deprive you of your property in very short order.”
Another dimension of crime prevention involves participation with neighbors and citizens who are active in the community. These individuals often join neighborhood programs , introduce residents to police officers who patrol their area and organize teams of neighbors who stay on the lookout for illegal activities and report any suspicious developments.
Participation also includes involvement with initiatives designed to offer youth guidance from positive adult role models and engage them in activities that will make a life of crime seem less attractive. These initiatives usually include mentoring, recreation and tutoring programs.
Rev. Ronald Covington of Friendship Baptist Church, encourages everyone to reach out and do what they can to be part of the solution.
“This challenge is not just on any one person or entity. We all have to get involved. Our children are at stake,” said Covington, who operates a youth recreation center and recently helped turn in Emmanuel McClendon, Jr. to police. At press time, McClendon was being held as the suspect in the murder of 8 year old Karissa Hitchings, who died following a shooting that took place near her father’s home last Friday.
Deputy Mayor Olgen Williams agrees that progress can be made if every individual steps up to the plate.
“We have an unacceptable homicide rate and too many of our young people are getting hurt,” said Williams, who is also former director of Christamore House, which has intervened in the lives of many at risk youth. “We must all work together to create solutions and move our city forward.”
